Govee Interior Car Lights unlike most ambient lighting accessories that require you to connect the front and back or left and right separately, the Govee LED light set can illuminate all four seats in one unit. It consists of four PVC rubber strips—each with 12 LED lights—connected by wishbone-shaped wires coming from a 12V DC outlet. RGB lights can be tweaked to create millions of different colors.
You can operate the light in two ways: a remote connection to the LED strip or an app that Gove offers. The controller lets you choose the color and brightness, and the app lets you customize the color combination and pattern you want.
The coolest feature is the music match display system which monitors and adjusts the lights to the rhythm and pitch of the music you play through the speakers. It’s not like a rave-like DJ light, and the adjustments aren’t instant, but the steady pattern loop is a great alternative to constant ambient lighting settings.
Govee interior car lights review packaging & product quality
A set of Gove cabin lights comes in a plastic bag in a thin white box. The cord is easy to remove because it’s carefully packed with ties (so you don’t feel like you’re removing Christmas lights). The box and packaging are quite durable, so you don’t have to worry about getting damaged during shipping.
The straps are thick and sturdy and withstood the tug and slap tests I did. The LED segments are softer and slightly bent because they are in the box, so it will take a while to flatten them out before they are straight enough to fit.
The LED strip is waterproof and low heat, and I verified both of these claims. Even after a night of using the lights and spilling drinks on them, they are safe to touch.
Installation
The Govee Interior Car Lights kit comes with a small pamphlet with step-by-step instructions in English, French, and German (unfortunately no Spanish). It describes the five steps for installation.
After checking that the product is working, you open it and lay cables throughout the cab following the provided diagram: through the center console, then splitting the rear seat legs, and up along each door to the bottom of the dashboard. This allows you to cover the entire cabin with a single set of lights.
Once you’ve decided where to place the light, you clean the stain and use 3M adhesive tape to stick the LED strip in place.
Gove also includes two other additional methods for securing strips: wire ties and screws. From my experience, the 3M tape doesn’t last more than a few weeks in my car when it’s parked in the hot sun in the middle of summer, so I’d recommend using all three methods for long-term results.
It took me a while to figure out the best route for wiring between and under the seat, especially since the single wire leading from the 12V outlet was split. It splits right above the center console, which makes it impossible to hide. If the separation is closer to the wall outlet, you can separate the cord and place it on either side of the center console.
If the separation is further back, you can split it behind the center console in the back row. If you have a 12V outlet on your center console, you might avoid this dilemma, but sadly, I didn’t.
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Overall Rating: Does It Do What It Claims?
Full disclosure: I love this lamp more than I thought. The quality, brightness, and ease of use are very high considering how low the price is.
Once you have the lights installed, they are easy to use. The 12V plug has an on/off switch on it, which allows you to leave it plugged in indefinitely. That’s good because the plug is a bit bulky and requires a firm push to get into the outlet.
For reference, I drive a Hyundai Veloster. It comes with ambient lighting in the front footwell, so I can compare the brightness of the OEM lamp to that of the Gove lamp. Obviously, as indicated above, there is no contest. Gove headlights emit a full, even, clear light that is not too bright or distracting to the driver.
The app is easy to use and doesn’t require much work to sync so I can start using it.
I like the variety of ways you can adjust the lights and it even has a few preprogrammed settings you can choose from. Apps sometimes take some time to load or respond, but that’s probably because I have an older phone.
Cable length may be a problem in some vehicles. Since my Veloster is a compact hatchback and the length of the cable doesn’t give me much wiggle room when laying it down, I was skeptical that it would be long enough to fit an SUV or truck – although I didn’t check it.
This Govee Interior Car Lights is a great introduction to cabin mood lighting for anyone who wants to try it but isn’t sure where to start or whether they want one. These LED solutions are affordable, easy to install without permanent damage, and give you a taste of color lighting solutions. If you end up liking the look of vibrant mood lighting in your car, you can choose to upgrade to a more sophisticated permanent system. And if you don’t like it, you’re not spending a fortune!
